Hi guys. Sooooo today (or really like a week ago I am very behind) Mrs. Hurt told us this will be our last publication. I, in turn, told her I was very overwhelmed with my upcoming AP exams and I would be writing it once my AP exams are over. She agreed, thankfully, and so here I am. I have literally two days of in person school left. Which is insane. I am currently sitting in the Daniel Island Library writing this because MK and I decided that we are only productive in the library. Which is literally true. So far today I have gone through all my Clemson orientation models, made a google docs of all the important links, done my Econ DBQ, and now for the last item on my to do list: writing my last newspaper article.

I thought for a really long time (I swear Mrs. Hurt) over what I wanted my article to be on. I knew that it needed to be something important since it was the last article. I wanted to do something involving our senior class, since the rest of the school will no longer have to deal with us very soon.

After much careful thought I decided I wanted to write about the highlights and lowlights of the Class of 2021 through the years. The lowlights were much easier to think of (maybe because negative events stay in your head longer) but I eventually came up with some good ones too don’t worry.

Freshman year: This is maybe the most uncomfortable picture I have ever seen. Taken on my first day of high school ever.

-Came in to Summer Scholars, everyone quickly attempting to decide who was going to be their future best friend and who would be the love of their life (supposedly?)

-for those of you in McCormick’s biology I hope you remember when at least 90 percent of the class got a 0 on a one question quiz. Biology freshman year was probably the hardest class I have taken since coming to Magnet. The idea of not getting an A on an assignment? Impossible to believe for me and the rest of my fellow struggling students

evidence of my (gasp) B in Biology!!!

-Highlight? Lowlight? forever the most iconic moment of our freshman year was when *** stole the Biology midterm. Guess we will never know who did this. It will forever be an unanswered question.

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-HIGHLIGHT the one and only field trip our class would ever go on. It was quite a time. We certainly enjoyed ourselves (though I am not sure that Mr. McCormick would say the same oops)

Here are some slightly disturbing pictures from the keys trip. Literally so weird that these are the only pictures we will ever get on a field trip. At age 14.

Sophomore Year:

-I swear I blocked this year out of my memories. I don’t know about the rest of y’all but sophomore year for me was just full of drama. Let’s just pretend that I am not crazy and that y’all have weird sophomore years too. I have no highlights or lowlights. Just a blur

Junior Year:

Junior year on the other hand I have plenty of memories. lots of good. lots of bad

Highlight: Covid saved us from the majority of the AP Capstone exam, so we only had to turn in one of our projects that we had already completed

Lowlight: Nantahala, one of the field trips that is supposed to be the most bonding, was cancelled

Highlight: We actually did get a semi right before everything went ….

Lowlight: no prom:/

Senior Year: this year I have mixed feelings about

Beginning of the year was depressing partially because we were all online and then also because coming back to school was stressful as heck. As someone who doesn’t like to break the rules (I know not cool to say aloud. It stresses me out what can I say) it was very stressful (literally my favorite word) to try to navigate a school day where you get yelled at for literally ummm everything

Middle of the year was also a blur because I had never had a job during the school year before and it is EXHAUSTING let me tell you. I am very impressed with those of you who have done this multiple years.

Nowwww with only TWO DAYS left going to school in person, I honestly have not come to terms with it. I am so so excited for Clemson don’t get me wrong. It’s just weird to think that some of my best friends with be in Virginia and North Carolina next year. Like some of them I will go from having the same zip code to living in completely different states. Definitely not a bad thing overall though. Although I do love the small size of Magnet, the weird thing about it is your reputation never changes. Whatever people’s first thoughts of you, like literally four years before, they never change.

Hmmmm, this is a lot of pressure. I have very few words left (and probably very few people still reading). All I really have to say to those of you still at Magnet is that there is an end. You know pot of gold at the end of the rainbow type thing. I am literally staring into it. It’s 20 percent scary, 20 percent nostalgia, and 60 percent excitement and adrenaline.

That’s all. I hope you enjoy the last words I ever say for the Academic Magnet Talon.